


Sweet Somethings

by IprotectKennyP (dauntperplexity)



Series: Swoops! There it is [2]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 16:32:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13057848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dauntperplexity/pseuds/IprotectKennyP
Summary: “Next time, lead with the lights.”Kent and Swoops go and see the outdoor Christmas Lights on their night off.





	Sweet Somethings

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: The best anagram (ie. was almost the title for this fic) for this title is Semisweet Thongs
> 
> Happy Holidays, everyone!

"They have an ice skating rink,” Kent said with a smile as he tried to convince Jeff to come with him. By with him, he meant that it was either they both go, or they were both staying in. Again. Kent wasn’t going to go alone. “Please.”

Jeff let out an exaggerated groan. He turned to glare at his captain. “I don’t know if you know this, but our jobs have an rink too.”

Kent’s shoulders slumping slightly. It sounded like he was about to take the L on this conversation. Jeff had been complaining all practice that all he wanted to do until the next game was lounge around in his pajamas. It was going to take a miracle to convince him to go. Maybe next year. “Yeah. You’re right,” he said, moving to sit down next to Jeff. “So. What’s new on Netflix?” he asked, reaching for the remote. Since they weren’t going out, they were going to just do what they usually did whenever they didn’t have to be anywhere early.

Jeff watched as Kent pressed some buttons to turn on the TV and pull up Netflix. He looked sad. And tired. But he was always tired during the season. Which mean, right now, Kent Parson was sad. “Get up,” he said, snatching the controller from Kent’s hand and turning the TV off. 

“Am I sitting on your phone?” he asked, jumping to his feet. He looked around and saw nothing on the couch. “What’s up?”

“Your car or mine?”

“Where are we going?” Kent asked.

“Wherever it was you were trying to convince me you wanted to go.”

Kent shook his head and sat back down. “Naw man, it’s okay. We can just stay in. Apparently there’s this new Trolls Holiday short that was just put up,” he said. He tried to take the remote back, but Jeff held it up and out of the way so Kent couldn’t reach. “Dude. Come on. If you don’t want to watch it, you can choose it. I’ll just watch it when you leave.”

“Is that what you’re wearing?”

“Like, right now? Yes? What kind of question is that?”

“Go get a jacket, Kent. It’s like 40 outside. And don’t give me that shit that you can handle it because you’re from New York. You’ve been in the desert for almost a decade.”

Kent furrowed his brow and stood up. “Okay,” he said slowly. “When the hell did this become a rag on Kent’s ability to acclimate party?” he asked. He ran upstairs and grabbed an Aces hoodie. He threw it on then headed back downstairs. “You really want to go? I’ll go without you. I don’t think it should take too long. I don’t want you to feel like you have to.” He was feeling more confident going by himself.

“I want to,” Jeff said, fixing his hat. He looked down and saw that he was already wearing the same hoodie that Kent just grabbed. “You really want us to match?”

“You can change,” Kent said. “I look way better in it than you do.”

Jeff rolled his eyes. “Shut up.” He stood up from his seat and grabbed a set of keys on the coffee table. “I’m driving.”

“Those are my keys.”

“I know,” he said, leading the way to Kent’s garage. He climbed into the driver’s seat and and started the car. He laughed as Kent climbed into the passenger’s seat with a scowl. “Aw, why the frowny face?”

“You scratch my car and I’ll kill you.”

“Your car is twenty years old.”

“I swear, Jeffrey.”

Jeff opened the garage and pulled out of the driveway. He pulled onto the road and smiled he drove to the chocolate factory. He had driven by hundreds of times before, but he had never actually set foot in it. Of course it would be Kent to be the one to convince him to go.

He pulled into the parking lot and saw that there weren’t many cars in it, but more than he expected there to be. He wasn’t surprised as it was a Tuesday night.

Still, he looked over at Kent who looked at his phone for a second before sliding it into his pocket. The smile on Kent’s face made this weird excursion worth it.

“Ready?” Kent asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “Let’s get this over with.”

Kent rolled his eyes. “You can wait in the car if you want. I’ll buy you a box of chocolate.”

“Romantic,” Jeff said, but he unbuckled his belt and got out of the car. He slid Kent’s keys into his back pocket and followed him in. “You’ve been to this before?”

Kent shook his head. “No. Eight years I’ve been here, and I’ve always just been too tired to make the drive. But. I… I don’t know. I guess this year I just wanted to go. And you were there. So. I figured…”

“That you’d drag me along?”

“I already told you you didn’t have to come,” Kent said with a sigh. His shoulders did that slumpy thing again.

Jeff immediately grabbed Kent and threw his arm around him. “Hey,” he said, his tone gentle. “I wanted to come. I wanted to be here. I like seeing you excited about things, even if I have no idea what's going on.” He reached over and tilted Kent head so they could face each other. “Smile?”

Kent rolled his eyes, but he gave Jeff the beginnings of his trademark smile. He reached up to push Jeff’s hands away from him. “Come on.” He led the way to the cactus gardens and smiled a real smile when they came up to it. “Whoa,” he said. “Better than the pictures.”

Jeff would’ve said something back if he wasn’t too busy staring at the light covered plants.

Kent looked over at Jeff and smiled. He leaned over to nudge him. “You okay?” he asked. 

Jeff jerked out of his distraction and looked at Kent. He smiled. “Yeah,” he said. “Just… surprised.”

“I’m gonna walk ahead,” Kent said. He pulled his phone out to take some pictures and send a few snaps to his fans. He looked over when he felt Swoops next to him. “Hey,” he said. He pulled into Jeff’s side when a group of people came toward them from the opposite direction.

“How many lights do you think this is?” Jeff said, looking up and watching the lights cascade down the string. 

“You could count,” Kent said with a smirk.

“Shut up. Like, rough estimate.”

Kent continued to walk down the path, recording the blinking and falling lights around him. He took a picture of the two gingerbread men. “Um. I think the website said a million? Maybe. I don’t know. We could ask.”

Jeff shook his head as he pulled his own phone out to take a few pictures. “It’s okay. I just… is this always here?”

Kent shrugged. “I think? But I know the skating rink is new.”

“Next time, lead with the lights,” Jeff said, staring at this small family take a picture in front of a bush of lights.

“Yeah, I’ll lead with the lights next year.”

“Is this an invitation for next year?” Jeff asked.

“I mean, now that I know how this is, I might just come without you.” He looked over at Jeff and he looked almost disappointed. Odd. “Unless you want to come with me?”

“I’ll see how I feel next year,” Jeff said. But he knew how he’d feel next year. He’d take Kent up on his offer.

“Just let me know,” Kent said. He picked up the pace so they could get to the skating rink as soon as possible. They paused every now and then to take a picture of the lights. They also stopped so they didn’t photobomb anyone else’s pictures.

It took some time to actually find the rink as the garden was actually more of a maze that they had to walk through.

Jeff didn’t mind. He liked looking at the lights. And he liked looking at Kent looking at the lights. He’d laugh every time Kent would say something, obviously narrating for his fans

Then Kent put the phone away.

And they stood at the end of a short line that led to a small podium where they would pay for skates. 

Jeff took a step forward every time they were able and looked over at Kent who kept looking through the fence and at the “rink”. “You aren’t serious about this, are you?” he asked. “Come on. Their skates probably suck and--”

“Shut up,” Kent said under his breath as they walked up to the rental area. He didn’t want to be rude. 

The teenage girl standing on the other side looked up and it took exactly one second for her to recognize who was standing in front of her. “Oh my god. You’re Kent Parson,” she said in a high pitched squeal. She immediately clapped both of her hands over her mouth when she realized just how loud it was. As quickly as she did that, she dropped her hands. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t…” She looked over at Jeff. “Swoops!”

“Hi,” Jeff said with a smile.

“Can I have a picture! No. I can’t. I’m working. Oh man. This sucks.” She had gone on a rollercoaster ride of emotions in a span of thirty seconds.

Kent looked around and smirked. “A quick one,” he said. “Go ahead.” He saw an old couple walking by and politely took the phone from her. He walked up to the couple and smiled. “Hi there. Would you be able to take our picture?”

The woman smiled. “Of course. Are you someone famous?” she asked as she watched the girl step around from behind the little podium.

Kent shook his head. “Depends on who you ask.”

The woman took the phone and let Kent, Jeff, and the girl stand together. She took a few pictures before handing back the phone.

The girl then walked back behind the counter and put her phone away. She could not stop smiling. “Okay. Okay,” she said. “So. You’re here. Do you want to rent some skates? This definitely can’t compare to the RC Cola Arena.”

Kent shook his head. He pulled out his wallet. “No, no. I skated earlier today. I really don’t want to have to do it again.” He pulled out his credit card and handed it over. “Do you think it’ll be busy here the rest of the night?” he asked.

The girl pulled out her phone and looked at the time. “It depends? I want to say that we won’t get more than 50 people wanting to use the rink.”

Kent nodded. “Okay,” he said. “Well.” He handed over his debit card. “Can you charge like five hundred to that card?”

“Kent,” Jeff said.

“It’s cool, man,” he said to Jeff. He turned his attention back to the girl. “Just, put it on my card. And if someone wants to skate, just tell them that it was a Christmas present from Santa. And if all of it isn’t used, just carry it over to tomorrow or something,” he said.

“Really?” the girl asked.

“Yeah,” Kent said with a smile. “As far as I know this is the only rink on this side of town. It’d be nice if people were able to just use it.” He waved his card at her. “Five hundred is enough?”

“Yeah,” she replied, taking the card from him. She punched in the numbers and printed a receipt after he signed something. “Thanks, Mr. Parson.”

Kent found himself blushing. “Have a happy holidays,” he said as he took the card and receipt from her. Even if they weren’t going to skate, the girl was kind enough to let them through the gate to get a look at the ice. He smiled as he leaned against the wall and saw little kids holding onto the side as they skated around the rink.

Jeff stood next to him. “You planned this, didn’t you?”

Kent shrugged and waved at the little boy that waved at him from the wall. “I’m not good with planning things,” he said. He waved as another child waved at him from the middle of the rink. “Careful,” he said when the girl wobbled. It wasn’t like he could jump onto the ice and help if something happened.

A little girl skated over and smiled. “I like your jacket. They’re my favorite,” she said. “Go Aces!”

“Go Aces,” Kent and Jeff said at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed.

“Who is your favorite?” Jeff asked. 

“The goalie!” she said proudly. “He has the best helmet. And he can do the splits!”

Jeff let out a laugh. They would definitely have to tell Netty that he has a fan for all the right reasons. “He’s pretty awesome.”

“Is he your favorite?”

Jeff looked at Kent. “I like their captain,” he said. He smirked when he saw Kent’s cheeks turn a bit pink as he dropped his gaze. “He’s so good. One of the best hockey players ever.”

“Yeah, but he can’t do the splits,” the girl said.

“Maybe he can?” Jeff asked with a laugh.

“He definitely cannot,” Kent countered. “But my favorite is also the captain. Best hair.”

“No, no, no,” Jeff said. “You can’t say that when you know Baldo has the best hair.”

“I do _not_ know that,” Kent said. “You can’t look at his hair and compare it to my hair. My hair is softer.”

Jeff was about to say something when he saw the little girl watching them have the most ridiculous argument ever. “We’ll let the goalie know you’re his favorite okay?” he said with a wink. He grabbed Kent’s arm and pulled him away because he was sure that the girl figured out who they were. “Your hair is softer,” he said when he saw there was no one around to hear them. He took the opportunity to take Kent’s hat off and brush his fingers through his hair before replacing it.

“You sound a little biased.”

“I am about as biased as you and the answer you gave that little girl are.”

“It was a joke,” Kent said, rolling his eyes. “Obviously you’re my favorite player on the team.”

“Am I?”

“Yeah. Because you can do the splits.”

Jeff rolled his eyes and groaned. “That was one time. And I almost pulled my damn groin,” he said. “I’m never doing that again."

“Never say never.”

They continued to walk down the path until they ended up in the actual chocolate shop. He was grateful that place wasn’t too busy. “You gonna get anything?” Jeff asked.

Kent looked at everything with the same wide eyed expression he had when he first saw the lights. “I’m gonna get everything,” he whispered. He walked over to one corner of the store and started picking things out.

It was another forty five minutes before Kent was paying for his chocolates and walking out with two bags full. “You’re not allergic to nuts are you?”

“Eight years of playing together and only now you ask?”

“Okay. You’re obviously not allergic to nuts,” Kent said, walking to his car. He shivered as the temperature had dropped a few degrees in the time they had spent looking at the lights.

Jeff hurried just a bit, getting to the car and starting it so that he could turn up the heat.

Kent climbed in after putting the chocolates in the back seat. “Don’t make it too warm. I don’t want them to melt.”

Jeff rolled his eyes. “If the chocolates melt because the car is at 65, then they deserve to melt.” It wasn’t long before the car was warm enough and he turned down the temperature. He pulled out of his stall and drove back to Kent’s place.

Once there, Kent headed straight to the kitchen and took out all of the boxes he had put together. He looked through them until he found the one he was searching for. He held it out to Jeff. “Here,” he said.

He was tempted to shake the box, but he stopped himself. “What’s this for?”

“For coming with me. You didn’t have to, but you still did. So, thanks.”

Jeff stared at the small box in his hand that couldn’t have had more than a handful of chocolates in them. He looked at Kent who was waiting, either for Jeff to say something or for him to open the box.

Jeff did the latter. And he found his cheeks warming when he saw the shapes of the chocolates in it. “Kent?” he asked as he picked up what looked like a dark chocolate heart.

“Apparently the one that isn’t heart shaped is a champagne truffle.”

“They’re all hearts,” Jeff said.

Kent let out a laugh hoping to cover up that he was blushing. It didn’t. “I… yeah. I guess they are.”

The blush on Kent’s cheeks was cute. It made Jeff smile. He popped the heart into his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed. “We’re gonna do this again next year, right?”

“If you want.”

Jeff stared at Kent as he put away the other boxes of chocolate. Kent didn’t seem to be paying much attention to Jeff at the moment. 

It didn’t matter, though. 

Jeff picked up another one of the hearts that Kent had given him. “I want.” 

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr at zimmboniandbitty.


End file.
